Category Archives: around the world

I once had a crazy dog. He was male and our neighbor’s dog was his best buddy pal. On Friday nights usually we would visit and drink wine, the women, and the doggies would play together. Often, the two male dogs would hump one another. And on occasion, they would wrap their paws around humans, usually men, and do their thing. We laughed and thought it indiscriminately funny. We joked about them being gay dogs and were mortified when their behavior became out of control, when they assaulted people’s legs with their overzealous sex drives. Hormones, who knew.

Thankfully, Cici has never been interested when canine friends or strangers have tried to have their way with her. She lets them know in no uncertain terms that they better move on or she will kick their butts. Growl growl growl. The dog in the photo below looks similar to Cici but she would never do such a thing with a member of her own species, never mind another. Just a funny photo, right.

There has been a lot of public discourse on the Internet and TV about groping women, sexual assault and locker room talk amongst men during this seemingly endless political election cycle due to the fact that the GOP candidate has been accused of assaulting numerous women. I have lost count, has it been nine or 15 or countless hordes? Ir started with the tape of him bragging about being a sexual predator. Women have this week come forth citing that he would peek into the dressing rooms at pageants to gape at half naked and naked young girls. He has even groped his own daughter on TV and called her a ‘piece of ass.’

He has countered the accusations by denying their veracity, threatening to sue the media, attacking the women by calling them dogs, pigs, not good looking enough for him to grope, and pretending to be the victim in the scenarios. It is common for abusers, bullies and predators to DENY, ATTACK AND REVERSE THE VICTIM AND OFFENDER ROLES. As far as I and many women and men are concerned, he is an unregistered sex offender and hopefully in the upcoming court case where he is accused of raping a woman when she was 13, he will reap what he has sown. Certainly, because of these instances and many other ways he has been mean, cruel, insensitive and hurt men, women and children, and his ignorance and belligerent attitude, racist associations and claims, serial lies, even about things he has said on tape, he is unfit for office. As the Australians in Parliament said, he is a revolting slog.

Cici and I have a lot more to say on this topic but will only discuss a few important items here. First of all, where there is smoke there is fire. Remember Bill Cosby? How many women did it take to come forward and accuse him before we started to believe that just maybe there was some truth in what the women were saying.

Women are too often not believed when they accuse a male of raping or groping them without consent. However, rapists lie 100% of the time and too often get off without any jail time due to the favorable to rapists culture we live in. ALL women have been harassed and assaulted by boys or men. ALL WOMEN.

Two, whatever the orange mutant has done and said has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with Bill Clinton, who is NOT running for president. I actually did NOT vote for him either after I found out about his affair while he was governor from the person he had the affair with. This was before I even knew who he was and the story was sleazy and I vowed not to vote for him. NONE OF THIS EXCUSES THE GOP CANDIDATE FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE AND SAID.

Imagine IF Hillary Clinton groped a man…and/or done or said half of what Trump has.

We LOVE what Seth Meyers said about why it has taken women so long to come forward. Many said it was because of at the last debate Trump lied and said he had never assaulted a woman.

Meyers summed up the issue pretty quickly.

“When people ask why women wait to report sexual assault, that’s why, because instead of believing them, you question their motives,” he said.

“Stop pretending there’s an optimal time for women to go public with these kinds of allegations,” he added. It’s not like if you do it within the first 24 hours, you get a parade and an iTunes gift card.”

By the way, some women haters in the GOP think sexual assault IS FUNNY, they created a hashtag poking fun of the brave women who have come forward to speak their truths.

We also like what this woman wrote:

“The reality of our culture is that all women—yes, all—know what it feels like to be sexually harassed. Chances are they also know what it feels like to be assaulted. Every woman knows what it is to be talked over, paid less, fetishized. Every woman knows what it is to walk alone in her own neighborhood and feel the hairs on the back of her neck tense when a man walks by who gives her a bad feeling. Every woman knows how to quicken her step at night and look ahead into dark corners and cross to the other side of the street when nervous. Every woman knows what it is to be called “honey.”

As women have been saying for lord knows how long and as they will continue to chant for much longer still: We are not your honey.

and

“We are done being quiet. We are done looking for our place, trying not to cause trouble, trying to smooth things over. We are done being told that we are worth less, both for the work we do and for the nature of who we are. We are done being tasked with bringing the next generation into this world and raising them and feeding them and loving them only to have them grow up and spit in our face and lurch at us and whistle and tell us how much we do or do not please them with our looks and our behavior and our words.

“We are done feeling threatened walking down the sidewalk in our own neighborhood, in any neighborhood, at any time of day. We are done with feeling unsafe in our skins. We are done with being told our views and opinions are “emotional” and not logical. We are done being dismissed and diminished and interrupted and talked over. We are done with people not listening—never really listening—to what we say and how we say it, until a man says it, too.

“We are done being told that we are only attractive up to a certain age. We are done being told that we can be sexy or motherly and that both are acceptable but nothing but and never together. We are done with people telling us we’re “sweet.” We are done with trying to dilute ourselves to make someone else feel bigger. We are done asking you about your day and you never asking us in return or asking only as an afterthought when you realize you should. We are done feeling like imposters, never asking for more, only taking what is given.

“We are done waiting—for respect, for health care, for equal pay, for the same sense of safety and entitlement that others get to carry with them through their lives.

“We are done being the ones who always have to compromise our own dreams and ambitions for yours.

Millions of women put forth their own stories on Twitter about their FIRST assault. After I wrote my own, numerous other incidences bubbled up inside of me. Situations that I had forgotten about like the rabbits foot incident, the gold lame pants I wore in public when I was 10, the time my uncle groped me, when a guy stopped to ask my friend and I a question, he in his car with his genitals in hand, and so on. Too many incidents of being assaulted and harassed by men. Maybe because I was cute or pretty or naive or young or a female and fair game for predators. Perhaps because ALL women, no matter their age, attractiveness, or weight or height or race or religion are assaulted every day BY MEN AND/OR BOYS on the streets of America and worldwide.The men and boys get a pass because BOYS WILL BE BOYS. But we females have to deal with this all of our lives EVERY DAY worrying about what we wear, what routes to walk to work, streets to go on, neighborhoods to avoid, if we should go to a party or drink, or should we date this guy or not and if so, will he be a gentleman and care about US or just what his friends think and try to get away with assaulting us sexually. And girls and women who dare to speak out and accuse their predators are too often not believed, accused, shamed, and publicly humiliated. Our bodies, minds and spirits violated and re-traumatized because of having the audacity to SAY NO.

NO, we are not objects.

NO, we are not pretty things.

NO, we are not toys to be used.

NO, our bodies are not PUBLIC PROPERTY.

NO MEANS NO… no matter where, when or how we say it NO MEANS NO. It does NOT MEAN MAYBE OR YES. NO MEANS NO, go away and leave us alone. NO your hands are not welcome on any part of my body. NO, your tongue is not welcome being thrust down my throat or slobbered on my lips. NO, your words are insulting, demeaning, hateful and INAPPROPRIATE. NO, your eyes staring at my breasts or butt or vagina ARE NOT WELCOME.

Bottom line we deserve a PRESIDENT that we can trust not to rape, grope, or assault little girls, teenagers and women, especially not one who has been terrorizing females and minorities for decades.

Or as the comedian Andy Borowitz said:

Trump: “This is just a case of he-said-she-said-she-said-she-said-she-said-she-said-she-said-she-said.”

For instance, people like me who take their dogs on trips, who are single and alone and cannot leave their pooches in the motel, and must take their dogs with them wherever they go, sure, these laws are meant to save dog’s lives… but in Palm Springs it is illegal to keep your dog in a car, even if it is COOL weather or night, this goes TOO FAR. if dogs are not allowed in stores, there is NO PLACE FOR THEM TO BE. Where am I supposed to put CICI, tie her up outside a store ????

A woman called the police while I was shopping at Trader Joe’s one cool morning. I usually take Cici inside with me and did not know about the law. She was fine with the windows wide open. As I was at the cashier and leaving, the manager asked if that was my car and told me about the woman and the law.

There are laws that DESERVE TO BE BROKEN or should never have been made to begin with in my humble opinion. What do you think ?

Speaking of which, MONTREAL’s wrong minded response to an incident and just passed a really horrible BSL law that will put too many dogs lives at stake. Rescues are trying to get dogs out of Montreal ASAP as we speak but families are being torn apart and heartbroken for what ????? outlawing dogs for the WAY THEY LOOK IS JUST PLAIN INSANE and goes against EVERYTHING dog experts agree upon on how to COMBAT effectively dog bites and dog aggression. Breed Specific Legislation does NOTHING but waste taxpayer dollars and has proven to be completely ineffective at curbing dog bites. In fact, in some places, dog bites went up because BREED and dog’s looks have NOTHING TO DO WITH whether a dog will bite or be aggressive or not.

There are 5 or red flags that are PROVEN that can lead to a dog attacking or biting.

A dog who is or has been abused, a dog who is left alone in a yard, all day and night and is not socialized nor trained, a dog who is left to roam the streets, a mama with puppies, a dog who is sick and NEVER LEAVE A CHILD OF ANY AGE ALONE WITH A DOG, NO DOG, NONE. These are the RED FLAGS … AND APPLY TO ALL BREEDS of DOGS!!!!!!

“legislators voted in 37 to 23 favor of breed-specific legislation, effectively outlawing any dog that resembles a pit bull — unless owners meet a strict set of conditions.

“For dogs that don’t have an ‘owner’ on the day of the passing of the legislation, the way the legislation is drafted, the dogs have to be euthanized,” Alanna Devine, of the Montreal SPCA, told The Dodo last week.

“Under the law, people who own dogs deemed pit bulls have until March to undergo a criminal background check and pay $150 for a special permit. Their dog will have to be sterilized, vaccinated and microchipped —as well as muzzled and on a 4-foot leash at all times in public.”

The United Nations has chosen a pit bull to be the face of world happiness for International Happiness Day on March 20th.

Macy is a four-year-old pit bull terrier dog whose sweet face will be on one of six stamps for World Happiness Day, the one stamp that was chosen as the cover for their promotional brochure.

Macy was deemed unadoptable at a high kill shelter, but was then rescued by Grateful Dogs, a rescue organization in the San Francisco area that saves dogs facing imminent euthanasia. Jackie Shen fostered Macy, but foster mom quickly became forever mom.

Before meeting Macy, Jackie was actually a little intimidated by pit bulls. “I had never considered myself a pit bull person, and if I were honest, they scared me a little,” Shen said. “However, Macy completely blew my stereotypes and preconceptions out of the water. The thing Macy loves above all else is human interaction and attention.” This happens pretty frequently. Given just a small chance, stubby dogs will completely win you over. And then there’s no turning back.

Jaymi Heimbuch is the photographer who took the photo on the stamp. She originally took the picture as part of Hearts Speak, an organization of volunteer photographers that promotes adoptable dogs. Jaymi sold the photo to a stock photo agency and only found out about Macy’s Happiness Day stamp when a stranger gave her the brochure with Macy’s picture in it.

2. Consider using natural therapies for your pets… acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage, hydrotherapy, homeopathic remedies, music and supplements are easier on the body and planet. Even can be easier on the wallet if you consider the high cost of vet care and drugs.

3. Teach your kitty how to use the toilet and/or use corn, wheat or newspaper pellets instead of clay and clumping clay litter. Clay and clumping clay litter can have health hazards for kittens and cats and the mining of the clay is detrimental for the earth.

energy propulsion that can bring us to a new era of universal peace, eradicate poverty, and more.

It is time for the truth to be known: we are not alone in the Cosmos…and
WE ARE NOT ALONE — HERE ON EARTH.

Dr. Steven Greer, founder of the worldwide Disclosure Movement and the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence is working with Emmy award winning filmmaker Amardeep Kaleka and his team at Neverending Light Productions to produce one of the most significant films of our time.

This film exposes the greatest story never told:

“Once people understand that classified projects have figured out how UFO’s operate, they will realize we no longer need oil, coal and nuclear power. This is the truth that has driven the secrecy.”

On April 22, today, the film Sirius, will premiere in Los Angeles. You can download it to watch it at home.

Guest blog post by Diana Essert who worked at Washington Park Zoo, now called the Oregon Zoo, in Portland, OR

Elephants have a huge vocabulary of sounds. When they’re happy or contented, they make a noise like a very low rumbling purr. You can see the area of their head between their eyes actually vibrating if you’re standing close enough. And, of course, when there’s a reunion of old, long-time-no-see friends, they trumpet and whoosh air in their trunks as well as purring.

Their skulls are very porous, which enables them to create loud and soft sounds including the long-distance calls which travel through the ground as well as through the air.

They also make roaring/screaming sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard or imagined if they’re really distressed or angry. I only heard that once at the zoo…when a calf was separated from its mother and aunties to be quarantined in preparation for being sent to another zoo. That was a scary and amazing event, at least to my inexperienced self.

All it took was opening a hydraulic door between two rooms wide enough for the calf to charge through, which it loved to do ahead of the adults. Then the door was closed and the resulting commotion sounded like the end of the worldwhich, for the mother and aunties, it was. Rosy stood on her hind legs and beat on the door with her front feet and head. Soon enough, everyone settled down though and just sort of grumbled among themselves the rest of the day. All those particular females had had other calves taken away, so they seemed resigned that it had happened again.

I’ve done a lot of soul-searching in the past few years, thinking about captive animals in general and the ones I worked with in particular. I think there are too many egos and uneducated people involved in a lot of zookeeping situations. Our elephants weren’t injured or abused, when I was there, but there were also too many (3 bulls, 8 cows and 2 calves) for only three keepers to do justice to individual attention, enrichment and physical care (attention to feet in particular).

Elephants in captivity are probably happy at least some of the time or at least resigned to their state of being as best they can be, depending on the environment of their exhibits, enrichment programs and the attitudes of their keepers. There are zoos that are absolute hell for animals, not just the larger animals, but all of them. And there are excellent zoos, too. Elephants are far happier in sanctuaries where they can roam and have natural substrates…grasses, dirt. There are two in the U.S. ~ PAWS near here in Galt, CA and the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN. Both have thousands of acres.

These elephants in France may have overall health problems like advanced arthritis or infected feet where, if they’re in pain or having trouble walking, getting up and down, etc. may make euthanasia a kindness. Because of their size and intelligence, it’s difficult to get enough medication into an elephant if a medical problem is acute. There’s a lot of politics and face-saving that goes on behind the scenes, so the media/Bridget Bardot may not, probably don’t, know the whole story. She seems to have a sanctuary of some sort, but who knows whether it’s decent or appropriate.

The story in the news:

French President Francois Hollande has personally stepped in to prevent two elephants from being put down in the eastern city of Lyon.

“Should President François Hollande intervene to rescue two sick elephants in a Lyon zoo?

The fate of Baby and Nepal, Asian elephants exiled from a circus for bad behaviour, has hung in the balance for almost three years. They are suspected of carrying the human form of tuberculosis. In theory, by government edict, they are to be given lethal injections by Friday of this week.

A petition on the internet calling on President Hollande to save the elephants has gathered over 70,000 signatures.”

One of our elephants, my favorite one, had very bad arthritis and foot problems. The vet tried everything he could to give her pain meds and antibiotics, both injections and huge bolluses of aspirin. But 8,000 pounds of elephant needing large amounts of meds twice a day was practically impossible to do. We ground them up and mixed in with her grain, diluted them in water with chocolate or butterscotch syrup from the concessions, hid them in apples, cantaloupes etc. She caught on pretty fast to every trick and then it was on to some different new idea. Eventually, when it was obviously painful for her to get around, she was euthanized (fortunately after I no longer worked there). I think her skeleton is on display in the Elephant Museum at the zoo.Right now, at the San Antonio Zoo, there’s an elephant ironically named Lucky and her exhibit-mate, Queenie, who’re in a tiny, barrenexhibit with not even an adequate water feature for animals their size. The Director of the zoo is the former animal curator at Oregon Zoo. I’m amazed and appalled that he would allow them to stay there in those conditions, especially when they’ve been guaranteed a space at the Hohenwald sanctuary.

There are three elephants in Toronto scheduled to come to PAWS sometime later this year. But a lot of people there are up in arms about it, including their keepers at the zoo, even though the winters are very hard on all three of them. I think it’s the city council who’ve made that decision because of budget cuts as well as pressure from animal welfare groups.

I think, in general, all the animals on earth would be much better off if there were no people to poach, pollute and persecute them. The best of all possible worlds for animals would be one without humans…just my opinion!!

Here’s a sweet little video. I love the calf at the end who senses something suspicious, flaps its ears and stops to stare at the camera. For more sweetness, check out the pictures and stories at an elephant orphanage in Africa ~ http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

P.S. Elephants don’t believe in God. They do, however, believe in themselves and in Mother Nature, from whence everything began.

International Travel With Dogs Checklist

space, final dog park frontier

a solar system-themed dog park would include a canine version of a space shuttle, black hole tunnels, flying star jumps, water planet slash pads and for human “astronauts,” a solar room for comfortable observation.

Today is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. St Francis was renowned for his relationship with animals, famously brokering a peace between the townspeople of Gubbio, Italy, and a local wolf. Many churches take the opportunity to bless pets around this feast day.

World Animal Day is celebrated each year on October the 4th. It started in Florence, Italy in 1931 at a convention of ecologists.[1] On this day,animal life in all its forms is celebrated, and special events are planned in locations all over the globe. The 4th of October was originally chosen for World Animal Day because it is the feast day of Francis of Assisi.

There are still many people who think that dogs are nothing more than security alarms – people who keep the animals chained up in yards, like living doorbells.

And there is the blight known as BSL…and too many healthy animals are killed in shelters, dog fighting, animal abuse, etc.

Animals are precious and we are their voice.

If you have a pet, dog or cat or rabbit or bird or fish, whatever, you know that they are special and bring lots of love and often entertainment into your home.

My Cici aka polka dot princess does often with her silly antics. As did my cats Precious and Abundance. Pets not only make our world furrier but also funnier. Love and enjoy them while you can.

NewsHound and Dog Travel Expert

Welcome! I'm CeliaSue, a creative California-based freelance writer who wants to help you travel with your pets and enjoy the ride. I provide reliable travel info for California, and the Southwest USA (occasionally the rest of the country), plus lifestyle inspiration about being a doggie mama on the road with a spoiled yet friendly polka dot princess named Cici. I also write about romance, eco friendly, spiritual, healthy and luxury travel for various publications.

prmatchmaker at yahoo.com

Campers for Seniors

want more polka dots ? Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and and get FREE list of pet friendly wineries in California, DOUBLE DOG DARE YA & new posts by email.

Join 298 other followers

CeliaSue Hecht is a third-generation American, originally from New York. She has lived much of her adult life in California and Nevada and is a doggie mama and chocoholic plus a proponent of tiny homes and alternative energy and medicine. In the 70’s and 90’s, she taught personal growth workshops and seminars in Los Angeles and Munich, Germany. In the late 1980’s, she traveled around the world for three years with an international, interfaith, interdenominational, intercessory prayer ministry (Bangladesh, Canada, England, France, Germany, Holland, India, Israel, Singapore, Thailand). She has worked with people with AIDS, fibromyalgia, cancer, people without homes, Holocaust survivors, as well as written about diverse topics such as women’s topics, activism against the Yucca Mountain project in Nevada, alternative health and therapies and travel pieces in numerous magazines and newspapers. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin. Co-author of five romantic travel guides. Go to Paypal and buy CeliaSue a romantic comedy to read on the beach while munching on a chocolate bar.

The quiz was compiled by Dog Bite Prevention Coalition members — the Postal Service, American Veterinary Medical Assn., American Humane, Insurance Information Institute and State Farm Insurance. Dog Safety Quiz 1. Is it okay to open a door and let … Continue reading →

in town, Kanab, Utah, there are some new chain hotels that are pet friendly such as Comfort suites, Holiday inn, and Hampton inn with pet fees of $10 or twenty per pet per night and also a few others that … Continue reading →

What is wrong with this picture ??? IF you think any of the stories below are fake/false news, they are not. Freedom of the Press, aka the First Amendment, IS one of our most important and highly cherished parts of the … Continue reading →

On Saturday, more than two million women and men marched in more than 600 cities around the world. They marched in DC, 500,000, LA, 750,000, NYC and more. Many of the women have never protested before and it was a … Continue reading →

I was looking forward to seeing the movie A Dogs Purpose. Seemed like a good uplifting positive message that I could certainly use right now. A movie about a dog’s purpose, life into reincarnation. Unfortunately, the word has been spreading … Continue reading →